The Elusive Lily Evans
by headupintheclouds
Summary: This is the story of how James meets Lily, falls for Lily, chases Lily, earns her annoyance, which escalates to an almosthatred, which escalates to love. Please R&R!
1. Years One through Three

The Elusive Lily Evans 

_Chapter One: Years 1-3_

By headupintheclouds

Part 1 

Year One

Lily Evans walked off the train, looking a lot more confident than she felt.

She'd sat alone on the train, as almost everyone knew someone already. She knew she should have tried to find _someone, _but she'd been too afraid.

She walked alone to the boats, and got in one with a group of people she would label as 'outcasts'.

They slowly sailed across the murky lake, which she would grow to love. She gazed out at her new home, less than impressed. "That tower is crumbling, practically about to fall down!" she thought menacingly. But she knew it wasn't true.

When they reached Hogwart's, she gazed up at it, and although it seemed to welcome her, she braced herself. She walked alone in the front, and prepared to be sorted.

She had, of course, tried to read up on Hogwart's but ended up having to borrow a book she found abandoned on a shelf in her compartment. It was called Hogwarts: A History, and she brushed up on her new home. She thought she'd most likely be a Ravenclaw, or a Hufflepuff, although she secretly yearned for Gryffindor. She was pretty clever, but Hufflepuff was for the faint of heart, in her mind, and she figured that she would be sorted there.

She looked around to see two boys taunting the first years, and walked up to them.

"What are you doing?" she asked earnestly, cocking an eyebrow at them.

"Stay out of this," said a handsome black-haired boy.

"Why aren't you in the Hall with everyone but the first years?" she asked again, earning a frustrated sigh from the other one. He was a good deal less good looking, in Lily's mind, with an arrogant air that had bothered Lily from the first. He had messy black hair and hazel eyes, and was aiming his wand at a terrified looking blonde-haired girl.

"We ARE first years!" he exclaimed gleefully, now staring interestedly at Lily.

" Who are you then?" she asked, tipping her head to her side. She felt her red hair spill over her shoulder.

"James Potter," he said, moving his non-wand arm toward her. He obviously wanted to shake hands, but Lily stepped back.

"Sirius Black!" said the handsome one, not glancing at Lily.

Lily was about to admonish them, but a pretty woman stepped up and began saying shrilly, "Prepare to be sorted. We're ready for you."

They stepped into the Hall and walked between two tables. Lily felt the whole eyes of the Hall focusing on the first years, and blushed. It was an endearing quality she had learned to hate. It gave her emotions away too easily.

Lily watched as her terrified new classmates staggered up to a patched old hat, and got sorted. She didn't pay particular attention, but noticed that Sirius Black had been sorted into Gryffindor. All too soon, her name was called. She stepped up evenly, but her foot caught on those dastardly robes, and she slipped. She almost saved herself, but slipped again and landed on the floor.

The entire Hall tried to control their laughter, only the Slytherin table laughing without reserve.

She got up, not bothering to brush herself off, and sat down on a stool. The hat was placed on her head.

It didn't seem to do much thinking, and said nothing to her. She wondered why, as it had seemed as if other students had had conversations with the hat, and she knew it could talk.

She waited for the dreaded words, but to her surprise, the hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"

She got down, giving the hat back and, careful not to trip this time, walked over to the Gryffindor table. She sat on the corner, waiting. She glanced around the Hall dreamily, beginning to love the surroundings.

She suddenly jerked awake to hear, "Potter, James" and he jauntily stepped up.

It called 'Gryffindor' seemingly before touching his head, and he walked over, and sat close to Lily, to her horror. She kept scooting over, but he would always scoot a little closer.

A girl, Elizabeth, and a couple other girls met Lily, but 'Lizzy' was clearly her favorite, because as soon as she sat down (across from Lily), she yelled at James, "Give the girl some room!"

Part 2

Year Two

"We Won!" exclaimed Sirius brightly, raising his pumpkin juice over his head, "We actually beat Slytherin!"

"First time in forty-two years," said Lily dully. Quidditch hadn't interested her since James had begun playing. In first year, she'd found it mildly entertaining, at least in idea, but then, of course, the mighty James Potter made chaser, and she never heard the end of it from him.

"So there were two bludgers, both tailing me, and I caught a glimpse of something golden. Trouble was, that git from Slytherin, Gunther Flint, saw it too. So, with two bludgers still on my tail, I pulled into a death defying swoop, aiming straight at the ground," said James Potter arrogantly to his slew of first and second year girls, who listened in rapt silence.

He was about to begin again when a girl asked, "Weren't you SCARED?"

He shrugged, "No. Anyway, I urged my broom to go faster, as Flint was about a yard in front of me, and then, I finally caught it, pulling out of the dive JUST before…" he trailed off vaguely, and the girls gasped, then sighed. They all fawned on him.

"And then you woke up and realized what an arrogant prat you are," Lily muttered bitterly. Lizzy and Lily's only male friend, Remus Lupin laughed quietly, which got James to glance over.

Lily had inconspicuously joined the dinner table while James had been describing his most recent feat to his pathetic fan club. He winked at Lily, causing her to shudder.

She took a finally swig of pumpkin juice from her goblet, then got up swiftly from the table.

"Where are you going?" asked Remus.

"To the library," replied Lily, glaring at James.

"Allow me to escort you, flower," James said, getting up and offering here his arm. The girls he'd been with all shot her looks of jealousy and hostility.

"Actually," she said, pulling up Lizzy, who'd been deep in conversation with Sarah, their other friend, "Lizzy is."

"I am?" she asked. Lily kicked and she thought for a second, then another to make Lily sweat all the more. "Yeah, I am." She said after a moment, earning a grateful smile from Lily.

They left swiftly, James watching Lily's red hair sway behind her.

Sirius nudged him softly, "You got it bad, mate." He stated, laughing. James glared at him, then turned back to his fan club to explain the most recent prank he'd pulled on Herch, the Potions master.

Part 3

Year Three

"The first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up, Lil," said Danielle, poking her in the ribs and pointing over at James Potter. Lily shrugged and glared over at him, realizing what Danielle was saying.

"Why would I want to go with that arrogant git?" she asked, halfway bemused at the idea.

"You know you want to," teased Danielle, nudging her again.

"Mmhmm. As much as I'd like to go with Malfoy," Lily said.

"Ooo, here he comes," said Danielle, who was smiling and waving James over. James entire posse began to get up as well, but he waved them back.

"Erm…" aid Danielle awkwardly, "I have to go… study. See you Lily!" And with that, she sprang away, despite Lily's efforts. Danielle giggled inwardly as she turned to walk away. However, James was too quick, popping up whenever she turned away. Finally, Danielle observed, Lily sat down, frustrated. James followed suit.

"So, flower," James began cockily. Ever since this had started annoying her in second year, James had been calling her 'flower'. "There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, and I was thinking…"

"No, Potter, you weren't thinking. You never think." Said Lily calmly.

"Would you like to go?" James pushed on. Lily didn't even answer, just got up and walked away, leaving a slightly saddened James alone. He'd been trying different approaches since the summer, when he'd found Lily'd gotten her permission slip signed.

First he'd just sent letters, which Lily had almost agreed to, but then remembered how fake Potter could be. After she got the 34th, she started to think it wasn't cute anymore, as did her father.

Then, on the train, he'd tried to sit with her, and given her a present, a book. Lily hadn't had the chance to read it, because, to prove a point (Lily couldn't remember which one), to James, she'd thrown it out the train's window.

After that, there were countless verbal offers, which lasted all of a week. Every day. After every class. At every meal. James finally realized THAT wasn't going anywhere, and had started trying to be romantic.

He'd somehow gotten about 5 dozen roses, and had them placed on Lily's bed, and in the center was a thoughtful card, sprayed with lily-scented perfume. Lily had almost given in here, but when she realized that he'd written the same compliment as she'd read in a book several weeks earlier, and had told Lizzy about. Obviously, Potter had been listening.

Then, he'd started singing a Muggle love song outside her window. This might have gotten Lily as well, except for the fact that James really couldn't sing. It woke up her whole dorm, and, needless to say, that was the only attempt he made that way.

He'd started to become very unoriginal of late, just asking her again. And again. Time after bloody time.


	2. Years Four through Six

html The Elusive Lily Evans

By headupintheclouds

Part Four

Year Four

"Lily, please?" James implored, stuffing more sausage into his mouth.

"No!" Lily shrieked for the final time, slamming down her fork on her plate, which gave a soft 'clink,' and stormed out of the hall, all heads turned to James, who gave his fan club a lopsided grin that didn't reach his eyes.

He chased after her, finally finding her in a deserted hallway near their Transfiguration class, tears leaking onto her milky complexioned face. He bent down onto one knee in front of her, while she moved to face away from him.

"Please, Lil," he said quietly, and she turned back, avoiding his gaze.

"Why do you always DO that?" she asked the floor, but James knew the question was directed at him.

"Do what?" he asked, not completely genuinely confused, but trying to buy time.

"Ask me out in public situations. It doesn't make either of us look good, you know. And I'm not going to say yes. I don't know why you bother." She said quietly.

"But one day you just might say yes, by mistake or something. What's so wrong about me that you can't say yes? And please don't lie. I can change, you know." He said hopefully, but honestly.

"There's nothing so 'wrong' with you, it's just that I don't want to be James Potter's girl of the week. I know it won't last longer than that because it never does," she said.

"Well I'm not going to give up. Just let me know how I can change and I will!" he promised.

"Never ask me out again." Lily said.

James walked away frowning. He had a feeling that the day he didn't ask Lily out would be the day she would start wanting for him to ask. He also knew that the day he didn't ask would be the day he let her go.

The next day, at breakfast, James sat at the other end of the table from Lily, and didn't look her way once. She didn't notice, until she was carrying her own books to classes, which she did every day, but they seemed so much heavier now that James had stopped asking to carry them.

At lunch, he paid her no attention again, and it was starting to be unnerving, like taking away a known trait of the universe. By afternoon lessons, she found herself trying to catch his eye, and actually was caught unaware by a teacher, and almost received a detention for it. He seemed not to notice.

By dinner, she was feeling anxious, fixing her hair, checking her teeth, feeling like last month's reject pile. Lily Evans NEVER cared about her appearance.

In the common room, after dinner, he finally approached her, grinning broadly.

"How was that?" he inquired. She almost broke into a grin, realizing that it had all been a ploy. She actually wanted to be friends with James, now that she knew what a day without him felt like.

"You went totally over the top. I _would_ like to be friends with you, just not be asked out by you before, at, and after noontime." She replied. Relief flooded her.

"Missed me, did you?" he teased.

"A little," she admitted. The answer shocked him into his old ways- before he could catch himself, the cursed words slipped off his tongue, as easily as they had rolled off the previous 2,305 times:

"Will you go out with me, then?" he asked, and immediately tried to pass it off as a joke, but fury filled Lily's eyes.

She let out a loud sigh, full of frustration and anger, and stormed up to the girls' dorms.

Defeated, James trudged up to his own dorm and fell asleep well before 9.

Part Five

Year Five

"Hey Wiwee," James said, swallowing his mouthful of food, "want to go to the party with me after we win the match against Slytherin?"

"Sorry, but if there _is_ a party, I won't be attending, as my boyfriend is in Ravenclaw, as you know."

"Old Ludo, eh?" James asked, trying to keep his jealousy from entering his voice.

"Yes. Ludo is perfectly sweet, and I wouldn't go with you even if I _wasn't_ dating him," Lily replied sharply.

"I'm sure, glad you're happy," James mumbled, pushing away his plate, and stalking out of the Hall, deep in thought.

Next day, at the Quidditch match, James scanned the crowd before shaking hands with the Slytherin Captain, who nearly yanked off James' arm, though he didn't let on.

As the Snitch was released, he watched it glint until it was out of sight, then turned his attention to a squabble between his teammates and the Slytherin players over possession of the Quaffle. The poor commentator was trying, and failing miserably, to keep up with the action.

Since the Snitch was hiding, he floated down to his fan club, who screamed, reaching for the hems of his robes. He shot up, barely avoiding a bludger, then back down, as the girls swooned.

He glanced at the rest of the crowd, and noticed Lily and Ludo unnaturally close. Suddenly, Ludo had her chin in his hands, and was drawing her nearer. Fury pulsed through his veins, and he surged over to the couple. Lily was trying to gently back away, but Ludo entreated her nearer. Not forcefully, although what he was doing could hardly be considered understanding.

James hit Ludo right in the jaw, without even considering his actions.

Lily Evans stormed into the Gryffindor Common Room, stiff with temper. James was seething in a corner. They stormed up to each other, and shouted in unison, "How could you DO that to me!"

"POTTER! I didn't do anything to YOU, and you come up and KNOCK OUT my boyfriend!" Lily yelled. By now, the music had dimmed, and neither realized the publicity they were being subjected to.

"He was making you KISS him! That is most certainly NOT okay with me!" James yelled back.

"James, I will NEVER go out with you, no matter how many of my boyfriends you knock out, and you have NO place to tell me who I can or cannot KISS!" Lily exploded.

"You didn't even WANT to kiss him!" James screamed.

"Well thanks to you, I'll never have the chance, since he said I'm much too 'dangerous' a girlfriend! Potter, I don't understand you, and I never want you anywhere near me EVER again!"

"You don't mean that," James whispered, sounding on the verge of a break down.

"I do." She said, speeding up the steps to the Girls' Dormitory, leaving James in the middle of the crowd, staring at her wake.

At breakfast the next morning, James sat next to Lily.

"Lily, I'm sorry. You're right, I have no place to do what I did or tell you who you can kiss," he said, sounding sincere.

"I know," Lily replied, standing up and going to class.

He caught her before their next class, and asked, "So we're good?" with an angelic smile on his face.

"I suppose," Lily replied, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Great! So you WILL go out with me?"

"POTTER!" she burst, just as the Professor demanded the class' attention.

Part Six

Year Six

Lily scrawled tiny notes in Professor Binns' class, taking accurate and exact notations of the Dragon's Blood Trade Restriction of 1783, when a tiny note zoomed onto her desk.

She glanced around the classroom, trying to find the source, but all eyes were either on Binns or closed. She opened it carefully, as though afraid of detonation.

b You can't honestly find this interesting. Why not talk to me? /b 

She scanned back around the room, trying to find the source. The messy slant seemed to belong to a boy, but none of the waking boys seemed to be the ones with whom she would converse with, except Remus, and he was a firm believer in a no-notes rule.

She decided to chance a reply.

u Well, not exactly, but there's not much else to do. I want to do well on my N.E.W.T.S. Who is this, anyway? /u 

As soon as her quill had left the page, the note disappeared, only to reappear in the same location not 30 seconds later.

b Why don't you guess? If you get it right, I'll tell you. If you don't guess who I am by the end of class, I'll give you a clue. However, let's not just dither in that boring junk, let's talk. Who do you like nowadays? /b 

Lily grinned, realizing that passing notes was a much more intriguing way to spend class than taking notes, and she felt the rush of doing something she knew she shouldn't. The rest of class was spent on this valiant work:

u I think you're... Peter Thomas! And why do you care who I like? We haven't said two words all year! But, I may as well inform you that I don't like anyone. It's hard to, because Potter always intervenes. /u 

She paused as the note disappeared, briefly wondering if it WAS Potter with whom she was writing, but decided it didn't matter all that much. He probably wouldn't chance being cocky since she didn't know it was him. If it WAS him, that is.

b No, Alas, you're wrong. Not Thomas. Look at him He's practically drooling. Do you see spittle on this note? Well, why don't you just go out with Potter? He's not so bad! /b 

u Then you must be Sirius, as he's one of the few people who would refer to Potter so casually. And I won't go out with him because he's a slimy git. /u 

b Nope. Sirius wrong. For being a passably intelligent girl, you certainly aren't a very good people person! I just have a rather neutral opinion on Potter. So why do you loathe him? /b 

u I don't... /u She wrote, before scratching it out.

u I'd rather not discuss Potter. So anyway, who IS this? /u 

b This is a person… And in exactly 3 minutes and 42 seconds, you'll get your clue, assuming you can't guess. /b 

u Well what shall we talk about for 3 minutes and 42 seconds? /u 

b Actually, it 2 minutes and 54 seconds now, but whatever. How about… The weirdo DADA teacher? /b 

u Hey! I LIKE Professor Cannor; And DADA is one of the most useful subjects we learn! /u 

b Oh, come on! How can you NOT read ex-con? It's written all over his face! Not to mention the jail striped turban! /b 

u Moving on, how much longer till I get a clue? I'm impatient! /u 

b Only about another 43 seconds, but since you've been so good, I'll give it to you early. Six words: "Will you go out with me?" /b 

A soft groan of fury emitted from Lily, and as class was called to an end, she turned around and threw the balled up note at his grinning head. But she only half intended for it to hit him.

A/N: Next time, we'll enter 7th year. That's the interesting one, since all this was a preface. Given, a very fun one to write :D Anyway, that was almost 2,ooo words, so none of you better complain!

A/N TWO: I hope HTML works on here, because I can't get the thing to format my work right! 

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	3. Controversial News

The Elusive Lily Evans 

By headupintheclouds

Lily Evans woke up to find a brown tawny owl pecking at her hair. She sprang up, surprised, and a stretch and yawn elongated her body. She propped herself up on one arm, and shook out her hair, before accepting a parchment envelope from the bird's ankle. She let it drink some water, before dismissing it and hurrying downstairs, still in her pajamas.

"Mom, my Hogwarts' letter came!" she said in a singsong voice.

"They've been coming from the past 6 years, why would they stop now?" inquired her mother fondly.

Lily's face fell, realizing that this would be the last letter. Every year since she got her first one, she had anticipated it all summer, and now there was nothing for summer to climax to.

She carefully peeled the wax sealing off, careful not to break it, and pulled out the carefully creased parchment that lay stiff and crisp inside. Opening the parchment, she found not one, but two pieces, the second handwritten. She skimmed her eyes over her list of books, mentally tallying costs and wondering at difficulties. They all seemed to be standard books.

She turned her attention to the handwritten parchment, closing her eyes briefly to make a wish that it carried good news, not bad news. Good news being something that made James Potter either disappear or catch amnesia, and bad news being that he had been made Headmaster.

The letter began,

_Dear Lily Evans,_

I'm happy to inform you that you have been selected as Head Girl- 

Her face broke into a wide grin, and she turned to her parents, without finishing the letter. She squealed, making her mother put down the toast she had been eating, and her father glance up from his newspaper, worried.

"I've been made Head Girl!" she exclaimed wildly. Her parents exchanged looks of pride. Lily heard a rustling behind her, and she turned to find an enraged Petunia.

"Did they burn that 'school' of yours, finally?" she asked snidely.

"No, they've made me Head Girl!" Lily exclaimed, throwing her arms around her sister joyously.

She was shaken off as Petunia trudged back upstairs, leaving Lily with a face that look like an abused puppy.

"Come, come," her mother said soothingly, encasing her daughter in a hug, "She meant nothing by it."

Lily tried to humor her mother, but her smile looked pained.

"Let's go celebrate!" her father burst, and he smiled like a lunatic until Lily finally broke into a grin.

Her parents hauled her, and an unwilling Petunia off for a day of fun, leaving thoughts of the unfinished Head Girl letter she needed to read the rest of far behind on the kitchen counter.

They all got home late, and most trudged straight up to bed. Lily lingered in the kitchen, and the Head Girl letter caught her eye once again. She picked it up unexpectantly.

_Dear Lily Evans,_

_I'm happy to inform you that you have been selected as Head Girl. Your duties will start on the Hogwarts' Express, conducting the first Prefect meeting in the Heads' carriage, where you will need to report upon arrival at the platform. You will conduct this first meeting with the Head Boy, with whom you will be sharing the Head Common Room. I ask you to trust me with the selection of the Head Boy, though you may find him questionable. James Potter will be joining you as Head Boy. Please enjoy the rest of your summer._

Albus Dumbledore 

Lily made a sound of outrage, and discarded the letter directly. This year at Hogwarts was going to be hell. She stumbled up into bed, and tried to make the entire day a dream. She'd rather give up the position ad Head Girl than serve it with James Potter.

Meanwhile, far away, James was taking the same news in a different way:

Curling up inside his blankets, James scooted to the edge of his bed, trying to avoid the series of batterings his friends Sirius was trying to awaken him with. Finally, he turned over to face his friend, and knocked away his hand. "Whatdyouwan?" he asked woozily.

"You to wake up!" his friend replied. "There's an owl here for you, and it won't give me your stupid letter, so you have to take it."

James reached up and took the letter, putting it down on his nightstand, before rolling back into a comfortable position and sleeping.

"James!" a feminine voice yelled from his doorway.

"Wha-?" James whined.

"Get up!" she screamed fondly, kicking his bedposts to shake him.

He merely nodded and sat up a little.

His mother left to cook breakfast, and Sirius sent his friend an innocent smile. James replied with a glare, and picked up his letter.

"It's just the usual back-to-term notice thingy," James concluded, before tearing it open, breaking the waxen seal.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, the normal books and junk." He said blandly, before focusing on the other parchment enclosed.

He read, somewhat disbelievingly, what the parchment said:

_Dear James Potter,_

_I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected as Head Boy. You duties will begin on the Hogwarts' Express, where you must conduct the first Prefect meeting with the Head Girl, Lily Evans, with whom you must also share living quarters, mainly the Head Common Room. Please do not abuse this opportunity, and prove to me that I picked the right man._

_Albus Dumbledore_

"Crap, Paddy!" James exploded, prancing happily around the room and beginning to throw various belongings in his suitcase merrily.

"What happened?" Sirius asked, eyeing his friend curiously.

"I'm Head Boy!" James burst, while Sirius made a sputtering noise of disbelief. James threw the letter in his friend's general vicinity. Sirius scanned it quickly, before turning a devious eye on James.

"You know what this means, right?" Sirius asked.

"Yes! Lily Evans has finally realized her undying love for me!" James said, only half joking.

"Er- no. Actually, I was thinking that you can't screw this up." Sirius replied, raising an eyebrow at his friend's antics.

"Well… that too, I suppose…" James concluded lamely, and both boys head down to breakfast, before what James hoped would be a successful train ride to Hogwarts.

A/N: Huge thanks goes out to darkforest214, who helped me conceive of the story line! Thanks pal!


	4. Could it be?

The Elusive Lily Evans 

By headupintheclouds

Lily Evans was greeted in the morning by sunlight shining through her window, and she slowly brought herself to full consciousness, but lay staring at her ceiling for more then an hour that morning. She tried to make her thoughts face Remus, who she would be seeing that day, but Potter kept intruding for long periods of time, while she tried to convince herself she wasn't thinking about him.

Finally prying herself from her comfortable, warm hole in her covers, she started for the door when a large commotion was heard downstairs, a sort of high pitched clanging and clattering. She wrenched open the door and sped down the steps with ease. Upon arriving in the kitchen, she found Petunia standing nonchalantly in the doorway to the dining room while her parents clutched each other. The look on her mother's face was a mix of horror and hurt, while her father's was pure rage.

"What happened?" she asked, eyeing the scene cautiously.

"I'm getting married," Petunia shrugged.

"To _Vernon_?" Lily asked in distaste and disbelief. "But- but…"

Lily had only met Vernon once, and saying it hadn't gone well would be an understatement. He spent the entire time sputtering, so much that the dining room table had needed a full wipe down afterwards. He was either sputtering in disgust or ignoring Lily, while Petunia fawned on him. Afterwards, Petunia had accused her of trying to steal Vernon, and Lily had stormed up to her room, losing her temper with her sister, which she rarely did.

"But what?" Petunia asked coldly, snapping Lily back into the scene that was fast unfolding in their kitchen.

"You- you can't _do_ this!" Lily exploded, as she watched her parents' nervous, outraged clutter. Taking a step toward her sister, she continued, "You can't spring this on me! Or on Mum and Dad! It isn't fair to any of us! He should've- you should've… you can't be _serious_?"

"Oh yes, darling sister," Petunia said, uttering the last two words as one would the name of an extremely volatile poison.

"Arg! I can't believe you! Selling your parents and your sister for that- that- toad!" Lily burst. When Lily was truly angry, she never cursed, and her light headed, halfhearted responses were often the biggest clue that she was hurt.

"I'm not selling Mum and Dad so much…" she replied coyly.

Upon this remark, Lily stormed up the stairs and proceeded to pack, which mainly consisted of throwing random items in a bag while muttering unmentionables that even Petunia would've been shocked at.

Half an hour later, most of her possessions collected into bags, which were then stored in her trunk, Lily hurried downstairs. A silent ride to King's Cross followed, during which Lily and her parents fumed in different way, and Petunia sat stiffly staring out the window.

Arriving at the station, they all piled out. Her parents and sister followed Lily onto the platform, where Lily hugged her parents for a long while, all the while being wordless. Her father kissed her head, and then released Lily.

She turned, leaving Petunia looking hurt and shocked. Every year to date, Lily had tried to encase her sister in a hug on the platform, but this time Lily had turned on her heel, ignoring Petunia. It hurt Petunia more than she would ever let on, as she let out a soft noise of indignation.

Lily trudged up to the train and lugged her trunk onboard, before storing it in the Head compartment, awaiting James' arrival with equal curiosity and anxiety. While waiting, she pondered her move on the platform, wondering if Petunia had even noticed.

A few minutes later, James Potter sauntered in, not noticing that Lily was seething, and ready to spit venom at anyone who crossed her.

"So, Evans-" he started.

"I'm not in the mood," Lily said dangerously, her eyes unfocused on the bench in front of her. James sat down on it, still unaffected by her state, and she turned her eyes to stare out the window blankly.

"I- what's wrong?" he asked with a kind of sincerity that Lily had never heard from him. But, in her affected state, she failed to notice.

"Nothing," she whispered with an animosity that scared James.

"Lily! You're going to have to trust me this year, you know! All I want is for you to trust me!" he exclaimed, looking frustrated.

"I- I can't. I can't trust anyone." Lily replied quietly, still dazed and staring out the window. The train slowly started to move.

"Yes, you can. You can't bottle things up, Lily!" James told her gently.

"It's worked quite nicely until now," she pointed out sarcastically.

"At some point, you'll have to trust me. Even if it's with punishing somebody, even with something as trivial as turning in an assignment when you're sick, you're going to have to. And I will find out what's bugging you. Actually, I'd be surprised if I got off the train not knowing." He said, half to himself and half to her, although he was quite sure she wasn't in a normal mood.

"No, you won't. I can't talk to my friends, and I certainly can't talk to you about it." Lily said stubbornly, never moving her eyes off the rolling hills the sped through.

"Well… let's at least prepare for the meeting. I've never been a Prefect, so what're the duties again?" James asked.

"Monitoring the halls after hours! We'll have to draw up schedules, and until then, you and I will have to do the rounds. Every night." Lily sighed heavily at this prospect, but James didn't so much as drool.

"Well- all right then. When are the puny munchkins getting here?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"They're fifth and sixth years!" Lily exclaimed, indignant.

"The difference being?" James asked lazily.

"Arg! They should be here ASAP. Otherwise they're late, and if they're late, we dock points." Lily said tediously.

"It's the first day of term! We can't dock points!" James voiced.

"Yes, we can." Lily replied.

"No."

"Yes."

"Noooooo."

"Yup."

"Uhn-uhnnnnnnnnn."

"Yeah."

"Not fair!"

"Entirely fair!"

And then a knock was heard on the door, behind which was a snickering group of fifth- and sixth years. Lily blushed, and pulled open the door.

"Prefect meeting? Or were we interrupting something?" asked one Slytherin, sounding bored.

"Nope, come on it!" James said warmly, but without looking at the Slytherins.

Half an hour later, the group was dismissed, partially because they knew their duties and partially because James and Lily were arguing. Again.

"The Hogsmeade trip should be sooner than later, so it won't be cancelled because of snow." James reasoned.

"But who ever heard of doing Christmas shopping in October?" Lily articulated, pulling out a book.

"Well- we'll talk about it later I guess." James said, deflating. He started to get up, and had his hand on the door handle.

"Stay." Lily said in a dull tone, without looking up from her novel.

His eyes lit up as he joined her on her side of the bench.

"Not for," she said, pushing him to the other side, "The first years were told they could come and meet us if they were nervous or anxious or anything,"

"Last thing I want to do on the train to school—tell munchkins to stop being stupid." James muttered.

Another knock sounded, outside of which a merry looking Remus was standing.

"Hello there!" Lily exclaimed happily, pulling open the door and forcing herself to encircle Remus in a hug.

"'Lo Mate" James said, sounding none too eager to be joined.

"I can't stay," Remus explained hurriedly, "but I just wanted to check on two of my favorite people!"

Lily beckoned for him to sit, but he shook his head and left.

"I just love Remus," Lily said, more trying to convince herself than James.

"Don't we all?" James said congenially.

"Lily furrowed her brow. Last year, James would've considered hexing Remus for letting Lily hug him. This year, he just… sat there… and looked almost… hurt. Could that be?

A/N: This is my most popular fic by far, so I decided to put up another chapter of it, as opposed to starting a fic I can't figure out how to start :P Enjoy, review, and live long, prosperous lives!


	5. James' Decor

The Elusive Lily Evans 

By headupintheclouds

Lily shook off the odd urge to tell James that she'd only given Remus a friendly hug. She assured herself, that this was merely Potter's latest attempt to get her to go out with him, that a person couldn't change in only one summer. She concluded to talk to her friends about it later. Maybe.

The train jerked to a stop about thirty seconds later, and Lily calmly stood up, and stepped out of the Heads' compartment leaving James with a slightly dented ego, although he tried to shrug it off.

The carriage ride to the school was mercifully quick, since the Heads' shared a carriage up there, too. Then they had to go to the feast, although they could sit where they pleased. Dumbledore's speech went by in a flash, and food appeared. All too soon, however, it was time to be shown to the Head Common Room, which both were dreading. James was dreading it because it meant even more chance of pissing off Lily, and Lily was dreading it because it meant talking to James, which might meant deciding he _had_ changed. Which was a scary thought, because it meant _she_ might have to change.

"Follow me," Dumbledore said kindly, leading them through a series of twists and turns. James merely looked around curiously, while Lily took vigilant notes on how to find the Common Room.

Finally, Dumbledore stopped in front of a portrait of a Veela sitting in a tree, looking miserable.

"The password is "Canook," but you may both change it, if it pleases you. Inside are your rooms, marked quite well. These have no passwords, but please respect each other's space," Dumbledore said, setting his glistening eyes on James. He looked a little bashful, but nodded.

Turning swiftly around, his robes swirling around him, Dumbledore retreated back down the series of hallways.

"Er…" Lily said, gesturing for James to go first.

"Right," he agreed, and, turning to the Veela, "Canook,"

She through him a coquettish glance, giggled, and swung open the portrait for him. Her melancholy mood was apparently gone.

Stepping through behind James, she took in the room. It was beautiful, much less cozy than the Gryffindor Common Room, though. The floorboards were not broken in, and were a deep oak color. A crisp purple couch earned a glance distaste from Lily, because it looked half as comfortable as the couch in the Gryffindor Common Room.

A large glass table was in the middle of the room, along with oak chairs with purple upholstery. Nothing looked as homey or cozy as the Common Room she missed. Sighing, she stepped across the room quickly, putting her hand on the chilled handle of the door labeled 'Lily.'

She paused, breathing deeply, then slowly turned the handle. The door opened to a cozy room that was furnished sparingly but tastefully.

Stepping further in, she found a comfortable bed with green satin sheets, and gold curtains that fell well past the floor and shone slightly if the light was right. The floor was oak as well, and the walls were a deep green. There was one large window, which looked out on the Grounds.

She collapsed onto the bed, the events of the day having taken their toll on her. James appeared in the doorway, and looked around her room.

"Is this what your room at home looks like?" he asked cautiously, unsure of her mood.

"No," she said, too tired to be argumentative, "this is what I wish my room at home looked like."

"Heh. D'you think maybe the rooms figure out a person's dream room and create it?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"I dunno. Let me try something," she replied, closing her eyes and placing two fingers on her temples gently. Suddenly, the room filled with pink things, and James stepped back quickly, alarmed.

"Yeah, I guess they do. Or at least the adapt to what you want at a given time," she concluded, before closing her eyes and changing the room back.

"That would make sense…" he trailed off, running a hand through his untamed hair. Snapping back into the moment, he chanced a conversation starter.

"So when should we do our rounds?" he asked tentatively.

"Oh…." Lily groaned, as James tensed up. "Soon, I suppose," she said, causing James to relax a little, relieved. "I'm going to have a quick nap and then we'll go, okay?"

James nodded, returning to the Common Room, and perusing a couple of magazines before selecting Witch Weekly, thinking it would be a laugh.

An hour later, Lily came out yawning. James slammed shut the magazine and placed it on the table, trying to conceal the title. Being caught reading that would earn him at_ least_ a 'prick, but probably more.

He was too late, however, and Lily burst out laughing, leaving a confused James standing there, trying his best to look "un-prickish."

Lily laughed all the way out of the portrait, a nervous and baffled James to follow. Once the portrait shut behind them, the Veela blew James a kiss, at which he sped up significantly. Lily looked a little bit ticked off, but his it quickly.

"Someone's got a crush on James," she teased, trying to seem light-hearted.

"Shut up!" he exclaimed jokingly, glad that the awkwardness had lifted.

They proceeded with the rounds, talking animatedly. An hour and a half later, as it was nearing midnight, they started back.

"Uh-oh," James said, looking down the different hallways.

Lily whipped a neatly folded piece of paper out of her pocket and start reading off it, "We're at the Great Hall, good. Up the stairs. Turn left, take a right at the portrait of the snoring badger…"

They followed Lily's flawless directions all the way to the common room. James looked stunned, as Lily said the password.

"For him…" the trailed off flirtatiously.

Lily rolled her eyes and James looked awkward and stepped through behind her. "Goodnight," she said fondly.

James nodded, heading for his own room. After being sure Lily wouldn't catch a glimpse of his room, he carefully opened the door and slipped in. He decided he didn't mind the décor, and didn't bother to change it. Wondering if he ever would, he turned over, leaving the lights on so as to be able to wake up looking at Lily Evans face in the only way he thought he ever would.

He definitely didn't mind the décor all that much, and fell asleep wondering how many times he would've been called 'prickish' for that comment.

A/N: Sorry it's a bit short, but I really wanted to close with the Lily Evans being plastered on James' wall thing. I hope you all got it. That's the décor- the wallpaper is Lily Evan's face. I wasn't sure how to say it and still be the narrator and… yeah. I thought it was cute :)


	6. The Girl He Couldn't Have

The Elusive Lily Evans 

By headupintheclouds

On the Saturday following the first full week of school, Lily Evans woke up early on account of the Prefect meeting James and her had scheduled for that morning. At the fast approaching meeting, directions would be given out for discipline and rules at Hogsmeade, and the Prefects would deliver the news to the first years.

Prefects would also receive their instruction for their patrol duties, and Lily and James would be relieved of some of the duties, and they had been taking a toll on Lily's patience, not to mention schoolwork.

Rolling over, she decided to go wake up James, so she wiggled out of her pajamas and threw on her school uniform, not bothering with her robes.

Sleepily opening her door, she stole softly along the hall to James' room. She knocked softly, and then placed her hand on the handle to his door. Suddenly, it opened a crack, and an exhausted looking James Potter came into view.

"You're awake, then?" she asked lightly.

"Er, yeah." He replied, tousling his hair.

"James, don't do that!" Lily exclaimed, not annoyed in the least.

James just looked at her, bewildered.

She reached over and took his hand, pulling it away from his hair. He had an internal battle about possibly not returning her hand to her, but she had removed her hand from his before he could make that decision.

"Prefect meeting," she reminded him breezily, before settling down on the couch and staring into the flames.

He nervously joined her, but sat on the opposite edge so much that his hip hurt from being jammed into the couch arm.

"So what's on the schedule?" he asked curiously.

Without turning from the enticing flames, Lily replied, "…Schedule?"

"For the Prefect meeting," he explained.

"Ok, that. Well, we need to give out Hogsmeade instruction, and also hand out patrol schedules."

"Right," he agreed.

Both sat on the couch for as long as was possible, without missing the meeting. Grudgingly getting up, Lily asked, "Ready?"

James nodded, and both walked out of the portrait hole. "Hey there," the Veela said seductively, and James' eyes just got wide and scared, and Lily pushed him to move him from where he stood frozen.

"It's bloody weird having a portrait obsessed with me," James said uncomfortably.

Lily merely laughed at his unease, before hurrying him along to an unused classroom that Dumbledore had given them permission to hold Prefect meetings in.

They found their small group already assembled, so they blew through the instruction.

"And please remember, "Lily tied up their instructions, "just because you are at Hogsmeade doesn't mean you're no longer Prefects. Please help keep your fellow students in line, and prove to the staff that every Hogsmeade trip will not be a disaster."

They all nodded, and started to gather their belongings.

"Oh, and on your way out, please take these schedules for your patrolling duties." James roared over the din. He did _not_ want to get stuck with a ton of duties again.

The Prefects grudgingly grabbed their schedules, and then Lily and James went off to find their Common Room again.

Upon arriving, Lily looked at James wearily and said, "That went surprisingly well, considering that we didn't plan it out ahead of time. At least not together…"

"Yeah," James agreed, although his mind was elsewhere.

Outside, the weather was quickly turning foggy, and cool breezes blew into their common room from a window.

"We ought to go meet our friends," James said softly, but with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"Yeah, all right," Lily approved.

James grabbed his cloak, but Lily's was left on the back of the couch, unbeknownst to her.

Together, they trudged down to the entry doors, and Lily met up with her friends Lizzie, Amy, and a couple of other girls they had started to hang out with in Lily's absence.

A giggling group, they headed down to the village, and they could make out a few lights through the fog. After exiting the school gates, Lily turned around and gaped at Hogwarts. It was surrounded by an eerie mist and looked like it came from a fairy tale.

She didn't notice James mouth fall in awe. After seeing her turned around, he also turned to make sure she wasn't ogling another guy, and he caught the same view as her.

Turning back around, Lily hurried to catch up with her friends.

Lily shivered as a draft blew through her flimsy outfit. It covered enough of her, but the breeze went right through. She huddled closer to her bubbling friends, trying to warm up and chastising herself for forgetting her cloak in the Head Common Room.

A tap came on Lily's shoulder, and she turned to find James Potter holding out his cloak to her, a slight grin on his face. Lily shook her head stubbornly, and went to turn back to her friends, but James gently grabbed her elbow, saying, "Evans, take it. Please,"

She was giving in to the temperature, she told herself.

She reached out an icy hand, taking the cloak. "_Potter is dressed in a far warmer outfit than me_," she assured herself. With another grin, and a hand running through his messy black hair, James rejoined his friends in an appearingly animated conversation.

Pulling the cloak around her, she unwittingly breathed in his scent. It was slightly familiar, like a cologne she'd smelt before. The soft, two-sizes-too-big cloak enveloped her. Carefully lifting the hem of the cloak so it wouldn't drag though the dirty, dewy streets, she hurried to catch up with her friends.

When she arrived, they exchanged raised eyebrows at her new attire. She gave them all an icy glare, which made them burst into giggles.

"I. Don't. Like. Potter." She said through clenched teeth, and willed her thoughts to fill of Remus, but she couldn't make them, because she was wrapped in James' cloak.

Her friends skirted the subject carefully through the rest of the day, and Lily finally relaxed towards the end of it. As dark neared, they traipsed up to the castle again, and Lily waved her friends off and followed the corridors to the Head Common Room.

"Canook," she said blandly to the Veela. She shot Lily a dark glare, but swung open obediently.

She found James already inside, staring into the flames, her cloak still hanging over the back of the couch, as she'd left it. Ineptly, she realized she had to return his cloak to him. Wondering how to breech the subject, she sat down next to him, forgetting she was still in his cloak.

He glanced over at her, without her realizing, and smiled at her wearing his cloak. He brows were furrowed, the same way they were when she was meticulously labeling an Astronomy assignment, and her eyes left unfocused on the fire. Suddenly springing to life, she jumped from the couch and he quickly averted his gaze.

Taking off the cloak, she said, "Er, thanks,"

He nodded, taking his cloak, and she yawned, heading for her room.

Sighing, he got up as well. Turning out his light, he sat down on the edge of his bed, the cloak in his hand. Bringing it slowly to his nose, he smelt a trace of some unknown girly smell. Placing the cloak on his desk, he groaned at his own hopelessness and fell asleep, the slightly sweet smell of the girl he couldn't have on his mind.

A/N: There ya go. This one is longer than the last one, and I hope you all enjoyed it! I'm trying to get out another chapter of "But for all the whole world," today (crosses fingers), and hopefully start WAY away (still figuring out how to punctuate it- any suggestions? As in, capitalization, I mean) about Draco and Hermione before I have to go back to school (which will significantly limit my writing time). OH! And most of this chapter, I thought you ought to know, was a one-shot that I edited to fit into this. If you want me to post the one-shot (which is longer and different and NOT part of this story at all), just review it on there!

A/N2: By semi-popular demand, the one-shot which inspired this chappie has been posted :) It's The Cloak that Changed the World.


	7. Livid

The Elusive Lily Evans 

By headupintheclouds

Weeks and months passed much the same, and December was fast approaching. The temperature had steadily decreased, and teachers were now finding amusing ways of warming their rooms.

Professor Slughorn simply had his students light fires in their cauldron, but had needed to change this method after a student singed his eyebrows one chilly afternoon. He had started simply warming the air in the classroom before each hour started, which meant that by the end of each class, students were huddled together for warmth, but he just asked them all to bundle up tighter.

Professor McGonagall had chosen this as the perfect time for teaching students to warm up books, so that they could study while heating up frosty hands. Chris Giddley had accidentally incased his book in a block of ice, and was sent out of the room.

Some teachers decided that just shutting windows would keep the cold out, and those were the classes where students brought 2, 3, or perhaps even 4 cloaks to keep them warm, shared seats, and cast Warming Spells on each other (Subo Corporis!) put this was banned from Flitwicks' class after poor Emily Wanteg had accidentally said "Sub Corporis," and ended up in a compromising position (think knee next to ear) under Whitney Passer's desk.

Outside of classes, students merely huddled together in their Common Rooms. This was awkward for Lily and James, so she just looked up how to heat up the room, and put a continuation charm on top of it.

Lily hadn't blown up once lately, which caused him much hope and happiness, and vexed her a little, but she convinced herself he hadn't done anything worth blowing up over.

Sitting down at the breakfast table, she swirled her food around her plate, her chin resting on her knees. Remus came up behind her, sitting down next to her. Springing up, Lily rejoiced, "Remus!"

And encircled him in a hug. He looked baffled, uncomfortable, and confused. "Er- I'm going out with Lizzie, you know," he said awkwardly.

Lily's eyes widened, and she blushed a little.

Interrupting the awkward moment, James cautiously asked, "Don't I get a hug?"

And so, in the moment, not realizing anything, she hugged him.

He eyes bugged out of his head, and he got a lopsided, dreamy grin on his face.

Sirius teased Lily, "Imagine what he'd do if you kissed him," and Lily pursed her lips and hit Sirius on the shoulder.

Strutting out of the hall, James completely ignored his raging fan girls, and for the rest of the day, he merely stared starry-eyed at his Professors, once in a while giving Lily a glance.

Later, in the Head Common Room, James came in late from a detention, to find Lily asleep on the couch. Silently sidling up to her, he brushed a long auburn lock from he face with the very tips of his fingers, and bent down.

Close to her ear, he whispered, "You don't know how happy you make me," and watched as she stirred a little, then turned over and fell back into a deep sleep.

James went to sleep with a smile on his face.

Soon it became early December, and the Professors had increased the homework load by quite a bit, in hopes of finishing sections of the curriculum before Christmas hols.

Lily kept up to date on her work quite nicely, and surprisingly, James followed the example. However, during the next to last Astronomy class, she knocked on James' door to see if they should walk to class together, and he jumped, clearly shaken, when she opened the door.

"Want to walk to class together?" she asked suspiciously.

"Erm, not going to class," James said slowly, working it all out in his head.

"Not feeling well," he claimed, clutching his stomach and heading for the bed. "Think I'm going to give it a pass,"

Lily raised an eyebrow, but pushed the thing from her mind as she exited and headed for the Astronomy Tower.

Tonight's assignment was to calculate the distance each planet was from the full moon. They did this about every 4 days for nearly a month, and tonight was the last time they'd have to do it.

As she was rounding up Jupiter's calculations, she noticed movement on the vast lawn below her, and glanced around. No one else had noticed three figures that stole silently over the black surroundings, as they all had their necks craned to look at the sky.

She squinted into the darkness, barely making out silhouettes through the night. She saw a pair of antlers, a bounding dog, and a thrashing figure.

"Werewolf," she deducted, wondering at the others.

All too soon, they stole behind a tree, and Lily could no longer make them out. There wasn't room behind the tree from them all, and she would've seen if they went beyond it, so she concluded that they had apparated.

After class, Lily walked up to the school with Lizzie, who she told about the figures.

"And the last silhouette looked like a deer or a stag, and had antlers." Lily finished, looking intently at Lizzie.

"First of all, Lils, female deers don't have antlers, and second, a stag has prongs, not antlers. Technically," she added, upon Lily's eyebrows furrowing.

A look of outrage and surprise replaced them, and Lizzie quickly joined her friend Sarah up ahead.

Realization had dawned on Lily, and after everyone had entered the Gryffindor Common Room, she lurked outside of it, her anger growing with every second.

"How _could_ they?" she wondered, seething.

"It would mean- _illegally_- but, that's such a hard series of potions and spells!" Each thought was more irate than the next.

Lily Evans sat outside the Common Room all night, and with each disconcerting, but impossible thought, she grew more irate. Finally, she heard footsteps echoing along the hallway, and she got to her feet.

The poor Marauders had no clue what they'd gotten themselves into.

A/N: Short one, I know, but I was having writer's block for most of the weekend. Anyway, I'm up to almost 1,000 hits (933, which is closer than far from). Also, I posted the one-shot chapter whatever was based off. It's called "The Cloak that Changed the World," so please review it, and take it OUT OF CONTEXT to this story.


	8. James has Changed

The Elusive Lily Evans 

By headupintheclouds

Jovial but drained, the Maurauders clambered around the final corner before they reached the portrait hole. They stepped a little softer than normal, and kept conversation low, although none feared discovery.

Sirius nodded toward the portrait hole, where a semi-conscious Lily Evans sat, staring across the hall up some stirs, her back against a wall. The look in her eyes was murderous.

James looked at Sirius cluelessly before following his gaze to the almost-sleeping Lily. His eyes widened, and he hushed both Remus and Peter, although neither was making noise. It was silently decided (through a series of glares) that Remus should be the one to approach Lily. He walked slowly up to her, careful to make very little sound on the floors, which echoed so easily.

"Lils," he said, gently shaking her. Her eyes flared a little, and lost their glossiness. Flicking over to Remus, she immediately sprung to her feet, enclosing him in an impromptu hug. Startled, he carefully closed his arms around her, thankful he wasn't facing James.

Then, she hurtled her gaze over to James, Peter, and Sirius, who were shrinking slowly away.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" she shouted, seemingly unaware for the first time of the fact that they were in public, and not presenting a polite front.

"TAKING POOR REMUS OUT, KEEPING HIM OUT UNTIL ALL HOURS, AND-" she paused, but only for breath. She had no lack of things she wanted to say.

"BECOMING ANIMAGUSES AND SNEAKING OUT, AND JAMES, YOU'RE HEAD BOY. WE HAVE TO PRESENT A UNITED FRONT, AND SNEAKING OUT IS NOT SOMETHING WE CAN ENDORSE."

Snapping back to Remus, who was still tentatively clutching her, she backed out of his arms, and her eyebrows crinkled in worry.

"Remus, are you doing okay?" she asked softly, patting his shoulder. Remus started to nod, as Sirius put a foot out to try and sneak away.

"SIRIUS! YOU GOT YOURSELVES INTO THIS, AND NOW I'M GOING TO REPORT ALL OF YOU," she hollered in exasperation.

Sirius widened his eyes, trying to look angelic. Lily made a noise of utter disgust and turned back to a weak looking Remus.

"I'm so sorry- I'll have them punished." Lily assured him.

"No- they were only helping me," Remus assured her, swaying slightly.

"PETER!" she yelled at the scrawny boy, who had been searching the room for something to stare at innocently.

"Take him into the Common Room, and up to the boys' dorms," she told him. Peter nodded joyously; glad to have an excuse to escape her wrath.

Lily turned on Sirius as soon as the portrait had swung closed.

"YOU- YOU CALL YOURSELF A FRIEND?" she asked, enraged. "FRIENDS DON'T GO AROUND MAKING THEIR HURT FRIENDS STAY UP UNTIL ALL HOURS, RISK HURTING THEIR FRIENDS, RO DO ANYTHING LIKE THIS!"

"Oh, shove it, will you?" Sirius asked annoyed, stepping through the portrait hole quickly.

Making another noise of indignance, she rounded on James.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT DUMBLEDORE SAW IN YOU, BUT YOU ARE MOST UNFIT FOR THE JOB OF HEAD BOY. IT'S JUST THAT- A JOB, SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO WORK AT AND RESPECT."

She paused, as if waiting for a reaction, but James did nothing, merely stared at his shoes.

"YOU ARE IRRESPONSIBLE, BIG-HEADED, PRAT-ISH, AND THE MOST ARROGANT BOY I'LL EVER MEET!" Lily exploded, hoping deep down to draw something out of him. But he just stared at his shoes, making no noise, not even running a hand through his hair.

"I WISH I'D NEVER MET YOU!" she exploded finally. She knew the words were far too harsh, and that she didn't mean them, but the damage had been done.

James finally looked up, and for a moment, Lily hoped she'd gotten through to him. She saw his watery eyes, which shielded the hurt that lay beyond.

"Glad to know you feel that way," he said quietly, before turning and taking off down the hall. Lily knew better than to follow.

She made her way to the Head Common Room, half hoping to find him there, but he was no where to be found. She caught a last couple of hours of sleep, but her own words haunted her.

Light streamed upon her face all too early the next morning, but she hadn't gone to bed until five, so it wasn't surprising.

Poking her head out of her dorm, she felt a flicker of hope, but didn't find James in the Common Room. She turned, walking down the hall to his room, and knocked softly. No answer. She knew better than to enter his room, whether he was in there or not.

Deafeatedly, she headed down to breakfast. James was nowhere.

She hurried to Arithmancy, but was unable to concentrate, wondering where James was. He wasn't with her in that hour, but hopefully she would see him next hour, in Potions.

The hour passed with a dreadful lack of speed, and finally she hurtled down the corridors and stairs to the Potions room, arriving at least 10 minutes early. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to scan the room. He wasn't there. No one was, though.

She took her seat and craned her neck at each opening of the creaky door, only to be disappointed each time. Sirius looked in the room, not looking at her, clearly avoiding her. Remus turned a disappointed eye on her, and Peter just looked as pathetic and eager as ever.

Class started; still no James.

After class, she approached Remus. "Do you know where James is?" was her first question, not bothering with petty greetings.

"I don't, but I'm not surprised he disappeared. What did you say to him?" Remus asked with concern.

"How did you-" she started, but Remus merely beckoned for her to on with her story, so she sped ahead.

"And then- I told him I wished I'd never met him." She finished, looking at the floor.

After many moments of silence, she found the courage to look up, a question in her eyes.

"You really don't get it, do you?" he asked, unbelievingly.

"Er- get what?" she puzzled.

"James. You. His feelings. You honestly don't get it. The smart girl you are, I thought you were just turning a blind eye; trying to make things easier for both of you. But you're not, are you?" he asked, searching her eyes for some small piece of recognition, but getting nothing but confusion.

"No…" she provided, perplexed.

"James has changed." Remus said slowly.

Lily rolled her eyes and made an unbelieving noise from the back of her throat. When her eyes returned from the ceiling, she saw the serious look in Remus' eye.

A/N: Sucky stopping point, sorry I'm a lazy-butt author who hasn't updated in ages. School has been… being school-like and preventing me from thinking about my writing as much as I'd like. Much as I'd love to tell you that it'll get better, and the past week has been spent perfecting this chapter, I can't lie. This was written on-and-off over the course of 5 hours today, and my homework load is only likely to get heavier. Thanks to everyone for reviewing and being my fans through this all. I'll try to get more out!


	9. Failed Attempt

The Elusive Lily Evans 

By headupintheclouds

"How has he changed?" Lily asked defensively.

"Loads of ways!" replied Remus, exasperated, throwing his arms up in a helpless motion.

Lily looked apologetic, but shrugged miserably.

"Loads of ways. Think about it," Remus alleged.

"He hasn't," Lily denied, but her face was thoughtful.

"You can't mean that honestly!" Remus raged.

"I don't know what you mean," Lily said brokenly.

"Well maybe you should think on it. Good night," Remus sighed.

Lily stepped forward, engulfing Remus, wrapping her long, thin arms around him, against her wishes. Forcing herself, she reached up, closing her eyes, and tilting her chin up. She waited for the feel of his lips on hers.

Remus, appalled not only by the forwardness of this action, but also the fact that he knew she was lying to herself.

"Don't do this to yourself, Lils," he said gruffly, pushing her off and looking her straight in her now-opened eyes.

"James won't hurt you," he whispered, then disappeared before she could be sure he'd spoken.

Sinking down the wall, Lily wondered how she could have pushed Remus like that. How could she have even pretended to think of him that way?

She started to chew on her thumb nail nervously, considering Remus' words. She ran through the sequence of events with Potter since the start of term, and although she didn't think he'd changed much, she could see how Remus could be led to believe so.

In fact, James hadn't asked her out in a while. This thought hit her, causing her to bite her own nail so hard that it started to bleed, although she hardly noticed.

A guilty feeling arose in the pit of her stomach, and she pulled herself up.

The next morning, Lily didn't bother to haul herself from her bed, feeling vaguely nauseous and her head aching. Glancing at the clock, she realized it was nearly ten, and she'd missed almost two lessons, but this thought didn't speed her up.

Laying back into the hollow of her pillows, she listened hard, and she heard a hazy thump next door, followed by what she supposed was vulgar language. James hadn't gone down to classes either.

Springing up suddenly, Lily hopped over compiled clothing, and reached her desk. Pulling out a fresh leaf of parchment, she sat down, her eye brows furrowing. A thought came to her, and she snatched her quill, dipped it in ink, then brought it to hover over the parchment.

Deciding that those words were to forward, she lifted the quill, and watched as a drop of ink that had dropped from her quill spread out, sinking into the think parchment.

Another thought pounced on her, and she jumped into a writing permission, before she decided that these words were too unkind.

Many, many possible openers later, she settled on two words, words who fit her feelings completely, exactly, and surprisingly. They were cliché, over-used, and so typical, but she couldn't think of any other way to communicate her feelings.

Carefully bending over her parchment, she nibbled her lip as she scrawled,

_**I'm sorry.**_

Feeling unexpectedly giddy, she folded the parchment, creating a crisp crease right through her freshly penned words, and quietly stole down the hall, slipping the parchment under James' closed door.

She heard a flourish of movement, and hurried back to her room.

The door safely closed behind her, she leaned on it to catch her breath, and realized how childish it must seem to him.

_Why do I care what he thinks suddenly? _She asked herself, but deep inside, looking back upon it, she thought she knew. She thought she always knew, but at the time, the reason seemed to foreign and unfathomable that it didn't even occur to her.

She sprawled on her bed, wondering when she would be answered, and what that answer might conceive of. She heard a door softly opening, and she began to tremble.

Sneaking over to her door, she eagerly awaited a reply, and hope sprang up in her heart. She listened, no sound unnoticed.

Another door, the one across the Common Room, opened and closed, and her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Angrily, she opened her door and stepped into the Common Room.

Fury filled her. _How could he? _She seethed. _I go to all sorts of lengths to find the right words, and he leaves!_

Fuming, she surveyed the room quickly, hoping that perhaps he'd left a note here, but she was disappointed, so she returned to her room and spread out on the bed.

Little more than an hour later, the Common Room portrait door opened again, and she heard a pair of feet enter. Hope rose in her, despite herself, and Lily tiptoed over to her door, hoping that perhaps he might have written a response during his outing.

A neatly folded parchment slid under her door, and Lily snatched it up hungrily.

She waited as steps returned to James' room, and the door opened and closed again. Then, with a whisper-shout of glee, she sprang onto her bed, and opened the parchment slowly, savoring the suspense.

Her eyes were not greeted by the familiar, messy scrawl that belonged to James, but to a host of different writing slants. She recognized the cozy, formal writing that was the only remainder of the pureblood upbringing Sirius had, the barely legible markings of Peter, and the neatly rounded, tidy hand writing that belonged to Remus.

Sirius' message was brief but pointed:

_**Go. To. Hell.**_

Lily bit her lip at that, and she could just imagine James recounting the tale to him, and his outrage at her sudden regret. Peter's message was much more timid, but held much the same meaning:

_**You're a bit too late. Better luck next time.**_

Only Remus had bothered to write something worth reading, and although it held little advice, Lily snatched at it.

You're going to have to more than that. Much more. I'm surprised at you, being the overachiever that you are. Try harder.

Lily's heart sank as she tried to think of something to win James over, while trying to ignore the irony of the situation: her, Lily Evans, chasing after James Potter, and him turning her down.

A/N: I'm sorry; I've been awful, absolutely dreadful, I wouldn't be surprised if you all wanted to have me publicly beheaded! However, I ask that you don't. Oh, and last time, somebody said I kept doing things everyone expected, so I'd like to thank… **checks** Jami, and I'll try to work on that. :)

Oh, and the word count for the story was 1,042. My main goal is to keep them over 1,000. If I shoot much higher, I might compromise quality, and a thousand words is really as much as a person can write in one sitting without becoming insane. Speaking of, I nearly am, so see you all later.


	10. On The Mend

The Elusive Lily Evans 

By headupintheclouds

Later that night, when everyone (yes, even those troublesome Marauders) was in bed, Lily Evans woke with a start.

"No! James!" she screamed, shooting upright in her bed. She found herself in a sobering cold sweat, and began breathing slower, trying to think back. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember the reason she had awoken in the dead of night, screaming his name.

She heard a soft plodding coming down the hall and shrunk beneath her covers in fear. The door was opened by a groggy looking James, holding a flickering candle. Rubbing his eyes and mussing his hair in the same smooth action, he squinted into her room.

"You're alive." He stated blandly, before closing the door in front of him. Softer plodding assured Lily that he had returned to his room. Suddenly in a state of horror, she sprang out of bed, making her swift way to James' room, down the hall. Her heart pounding in the most outrageous manner, she opened the door. James had his legs on the floor, and was in the process of checking he time and preparing to blow out his candle.

"You- you- er, you didn't hear me, did you? I mean what I yelled. You know, before. When you came to see me. You- you didn't, did you?" She pressed, James raising an eyebrow despite his tired appearance.

"No." he said simply.

Lily breathed a sigh of relief and turned back down the corridor to her own room. Closing her own door quietly behind her, liberation replaced her fear. She ran a quick hand over her sleepy eyes before crawling into bed for the second time that evening.

She heard a quiet, almost timid plodding coming toward her door again. It paused just outside, and she wondered if perhaps she had mistaken its' path. Soon after this doubt, however, a slightly more awake James Potter peered through the door, his candle almost blowing out from the draft the door had caused. Lily raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"You- erm, what was it? You know, what you shouted. Before, I mean," he said in the least James Potter way Lily had ever heard.

"Oh, about that, er, it was nothing. Just, you know…" she trailed off unconvincingly.

"Yeah, okay," James said, not sounding very sure of himself.

"Goodnight, I guess." Lily said gently.

"Yeah." He said, but instead of leaving, he stood there. He stood in the opening of her door, only his head peeking through, and he stared off into some deep space Lily have been unaware of, which apparently inhabited her room.

"James?" she whispered. It was more to herself than him, but it served as a call to action for both of them.

"Yes?" he asked, probably a little louder than he'd intended.

"We- I mean, it's not like we're going to go to sleep." She said awkwardly, hoping he would cotton on and she wouldn't have to explain further. Her letter expressing the sorrow she had over her actions hadn't gone over very well, and she wasn't sure she wanted to discover what type of reaction an invitation to spend time with her might get. Lucky for her, he got her point almost immediately.

"Right. Since, you know, it's 3 AM, and we're thoroughly awake." He agreed more swiftly than she could have hoped for.

"And, you know, we can't go anywhere, because it's after hours," Lily said slowly, a smile blooming on her face. It had been early that morning since last it had been there. For Lily Evans, that was far too long.

"So, we may as well, you know… since we're awake together and all, I mean- we could, errrr…" James ventured.

"Yes." Lily said. They were both beaming stupidly at each other, but neither seemed to notice or even care.

He jabbed in the vague direction of their shared Common Room, before retreating towards it. She followed a little more eagerly than she might have before.

She found him pressing himself into the far side of the couch. He looked a little uncomfortable. One of his hands was somewhere tangled beneath him, and he was leaning as far over the couch arm as he could have managed. A slightly pained expression appeared on his face. He tried to cover it with a casual smile, but succeeded only in a grimace. In the motion of smiling, he'd somehow twisted his wrist into a most uncomfortable position.

Lily curled into the other side of the couch. For a while, neither of them spoke. A little later, a house elf came and lit their fire quickly and anxiously.

When the tiny elf finally made her exit, she looked as though she would have wet herself if she'd had to be in their presence much longer.

Now with a meek fire to gaze at, some of the tension in the room was absorbed.

"Sorry," James said some time later.

Lily stirred from the trance she'd been in, looking bewildered. "What are _you_ sorry for?"

"What my friends wrote." James said simply. Neither was looking at the other, nor had they since they'd sank down into the couch. Both simply stared into the depths of the fire as it slowly grew larger.

"Oh, it's ok. I mean, you- you really shouldn't be sorry. I was- horrible." Lily said.

"I'm rather glad you were," James said quietly.

Turning to face him for the first time, Lily shot him a disbelieving look. He turned to her with a lopsided grin.

"I'm sure," she replied sarcastically, turning back to the enthralling flames.

"No, really," he said. He turned to face the flames as well, although his motives seemed different. Lily had turned away because she couldn't endure the intensity of making eye contact. He turned because it was awkward to stare at that girl, and say what he'd been pondering for quite a while.

"If you hadn't, I don't think I would have- er- plagued you." He said slowly. It was clearly the first time he'd tried to put this thought to words. It seemed to be proving difficult for him.

"You mean, it was all a game for you?" Lily said fiercely.

"No!" James assured her quickly. Her visage turned more placid quickly. "I mean, you always stuck out, in that you wouldn't simply date me because you could. It made you- appealing, somehow." James finished. He smiled to himself, either quite pleased with his choice of words, or being entertained by some other memory.

"Hey, would you go get something out of my room? I want to show you something," James said a few minutes later.

"What! Why should _I _go get it?" Lily asked, although her face bore a wide smile.

James smiled cheekily. "You're nearer.

Lily stood up somewhat begrudgingly. "What might this thing be?" she asked.

"It's an old book- I thought it might interest you. All the mistakes and foul assumptions some old wizards made. It's an ancient book, and I just realized you might find it interesting."

Lily did find that prospect entertaining, and went to find it.

Upon opening James' bedroom door, however, Lily was greeted by quite a shock.

"James Oliver Potter!" she shrieked, somewhere between indignance and hilarity.

She heard James raise form the couch and step up behind her, peering through his doorway. His cheeks turned a dark rosy color and the room quickly changed. Docile blue hues covered what had previously been Lily Evans' face, plastering every wall of his room.

"Er…. See, about that… it was… a joke?" James said hastily.

A/N: Seems like a good place to end that then. You see, I was considering a cliffhanger, but I decided that I've been absent far too long to test yall's tempers… Sorry about that. I just couldn't get my head around mending the Lily/James problem. I knew James wouldn't let the rift go on too long, but I also knew he wouldn't reach out to her, or her to him. Personally, I thought that was cute  Ummm, lemme know if you want me to start up an "Elusive Lily Evans" forum, where we can all chat and be merry. That way, you all can ask me questions, leave suggestions, whatever. Ummmm, I won't make a forum unless someone wants me too, though. So, lemme know!


	11. Changed

**The Elusive Lily Evans**

By headupintheclouds

"A joke?" asked Lily. "This is your idea of a JOKE, you prat- you- you- you SCUM!" she exploded.

James looked at her for a moment, and Lily did her utmost to keep her amusement from showing on her face. After thirty or so exceedingly tense seconds, they each burst into laughter. James' laughter was rolling and deep, seeming to fill the entire room. Lily's was polite and tinkling. James tried to tease her about it, but couldn't seem to get the words out, which set them both off again.

They laughed for a good five minutes, mainly because it felt so very good to be able to laugh, in each other's company, at no one's expense.

"Wow," was the first thing Lily said as soon as she found the ability to do so.

James grinned, proud to be the one, finally, to make her smile.

Lily laughed at the look on his face.

The rest of the day was spent in a subliminal haze. The friends of each looked at each other with confused looks, but shrugged. Sirius found the entire thing highly amusing, but no matter how hard he tried to embarrass James, or make a redness appear in his cheeks, James didn't seem to hear a word he said. As he recounted the "blubber story," he got the distinct feeling that he would pay for it later, considering that he'd promised James years ago to never reveal it.

For perhaps the only time in Hogwarts history, Lily Evans was caught unawares in class. On the outside, she just beamed down at her paper. The little elf who was teaching the class got more and more suspicious as the details of that day's topic got grittier and grittier, and finally asked Lily who the leader of the Dumknog tribe was.

It took him three or four tries to even get her attention, and when he finally did, her response was somewhat confusing: "J- I mean, Jambkoggy… nuh… I don't know, Professor."

"See that you pay attention, Miss Evans." Replied the little elf, then turned sharply on his heels and walked back to the front of the room.

Lily was merely glad that he hadn't glanced down at the sheet of parchment she was taking "notes" on. A closer investigation would have brought forth an embarrassing truth: little hearts, some entwined with others, some larger than others, surrounded by smaller ones, and many emblazoned with the initials of a certain unruly, black haired Gryffindor.

However, the prospect of being caught didn't stop her distracted "note taking."

James Potter, two floors down and 7 to the right, was having about as much luck appearing studious. When Professor McGonagall gave him a baby crocodile, assigning him to change it into an umbrella, she was utterly bewildered and somewhat amused when he merely beamed down at it for a little over an hour. At the end of class, she advised him to try using his wand next time.

The second class of the day brought Lily and James together again, unfortunately this class was Potions. Not the most romantic classroom of all, with its' dank atmosphere and damp walls, some with a corroded green goop oozing out of the mortar.

Poor Slughorn had done his best to brighten the walls- hanging colorful banners, each representing a house, on the walls and putting decorative places in between the places the banners didn't cover. It was simply useless.

Previously across the room from each other, James and Lily took adjacent seats at one of the tables near the back. Not only had no one in the class ever seen them so cordial, no one had ever seen Lily Evans sitting in the back of the room.

Severus Snape couldn't help but question their union. And the fact that they were sitting in his work table. It was, in fact, the table where he slaved over each assignment, sometimes putting his head on his desk in a furious attempt to find choice wording (for the essays) or choice consistencies (for the ingredients). This had left the poor table over-oiled. It, in fact, shone from the sparse light which came from the ceiling- magic, of course.

Snape paused pointedly in front of them. James casually slipped his arm around Lily's freckled shoulders, which were covered by her well-fitted cloak. His distraction was telling Snape, "Move along, Sniv- Snape." Lily smiled appreciatively.

Snape passed peacefully (only a few glares exchanged), as Slughorn was jollily entering the room.

Slughorn turned to face the class, booming, "It appears we have a new couple!"

Lily blushed a little, but James swelled with pride. "In honor, then, we'll be making a Cheer Potion today. Easy work, kids- you should've done this two years ago, as well."

The class groaned- easy work was almost worse than no work. Slughorn raised his arms, widening his eyes a little to inform them that they should begin.

The class begrudgingly got to work, gathering the ingredients. As Lily and James were near the supply cabinet, the few Gryffindors who hadn't yet heard congratulated both, some joking about how life would be easier, without them arguing about everything, and maybe now they could get away with things.

Lily felt a little awkward, but James just grinned up at his audience. Lily completed the potion quickly- the intensity of James' eyes was clearly speeding up her shivering hands.

Slughorn ruled that as soon as the Potions were bottled and assembled on his desk, the students may leave and enjoy the weather. Lily and James were nearly first done, and as soon as the heavy, foreboding door of the Potions room had closed behind them, Lily turned on James.

"You could have helped!" she said, only half teasing.

He shrugged. "That'd be no fun!"

Unfortunately, this came out as, "Add eeb oh fuh!" Because as soon as they had exited the room, James had over stuffed his mouth with Jubeesh, the newest line of candy at Honeydukes.

A/N: Hey- it ended up clocking in at 1,005 words, so I hope they were a joy-filled 1,005 words. I'm so sorry I haven't been updating, my friends, it's just that I've been CRAZY CRAZY busy, and sleeping has gained more priority. I'll try to keep up better. Until next time, REVIEW LIKE MAD DRAGONS- NOTHING will make me update more than a review. Especially a flame- they make me all flustered, which is a state that helps my writing. Anyway, check out my new fic, "Sometimes" unless you're opposed to HG/DM. Toodle-Pip!


	12. Not An Ending at All

**The Elusive Lily Evans**

By Headupintheclouds

A/N: Alright…. We all know the first version of this ending didn't go so well…. My solution? Wipe it clean and start again…. Here is the much longer, much improved, and entirely unrecognizable ending to TELE. It's been an absolute pleasure to write….. Perhaps a sequel? This leaves room for one :)

Strolling around Hogwarts' expansive grounds, hands clutched loosely and fingers interlocked, Lily and James were taking a short break from studying. Drawing ever closer were the middle of the year exams, but James had gently coaxed Lily away from her books long enough for this time together. Although she looked regretfully back towards her dormitory every few minutes, she tried to keep her mind off of the excessive amount of material she would be responsible for when exams began.

The exams, alternately, seemed to have no effect whatsoever on James, as he had spent the weekend gallivanting around with his friends, and Lily was nearly positive he didn't even know where his books were. She had a sneaking suspicion they'd disappeared the first week of classes.

The sky was streaked with fiery-colored clouds, a veil to the setting sun. Long shadows were cast, giving a surreal feel to their surroundings. James felt completely and totally at ease, his typically rocket-powered brain had slowed to the level of his peers. Lily, however, was experiencing a disorienting array of emotions, all of which had moved from her head into somewhere in the depths of her stomach. In a matter of seconds she could be catapulted from extreme excitement to nervousness to confusedly euphoric. James often made her feel this way, and she liked it, despite herself. For so much of the day she was in control of everything that went through her brain, of all the feelings she had. It was nice to feel so utterly unchained, but safe at the same time.

Knowing she had a long night of studying before her, Lily was struggling but trying to keep her studies off her mind. Sadly, little tidbits of information, both fully formed and partially finished, kept shooting through her mind, increasingly persistent. "_Goblin Rebellion of 1210, thirteen thousand lives lost, took place in…. was it Yorkshire? No, that was the Banshee Kidnapping….. could it have been…. Wilshire? No, that sounds wrong…."_ thought Lily.

Looking down at her troubled face, James could see that she was worried. Sitting them down, he began to quiz her. At first Lily was reluctant to answer him, trying not to ruin their little time together. However, he kept prodding her until they fell into a comfortable pattern: he would ask a question and she would respond back with the answer. His questions were all incredibly detailed and exacted, and her answers were almost always complete and unquestionable. This relaxed her intensely.

About an hour later, with the sun fully below the horizon, James took Lily's hand and pulled her to her feet.

Pulling her into a tight hug, he appreciated how her head came up perfectly to rest on his shoulder. He bent down to whisper in her ear, "You're ready," to which Lily smiled up gratefully.

James broke the hug and took her hand, and they walked jovially back to the castle.

After the impromptu study session, Lily felt comfortable going to bed at the reasonable hour of four in the morning, giving her exactly three hours of sleep before breakfast and her first two exams: Potions and Herbology. Potions, Lily was sure, would be quite simple: Slughorn was an amiable man, and would probably give an easy exam. His popularity with his students was much too valued by him to actually challenge them. On the one hand, it irked Lily. Adversely, she was glad to have a break. Herbology, on the other hand, would be difficult but manageable: histories of some of the herbs would be hard, but practical identification should be easy.

Five hours later, Lily was holed up in the Common Room again, preparing for the next day of exams. This time, James just smiled and sat beside her, holding her hand. Every few minutes, he would peer over her shoulder at the book she was reviewing from. He would skim the material; it was the nearest he'd ever come to studying.

During the rest of his time, he would joke around with whichever Marauder occupied the room at the time, or sometimes just sit and look at Lily. It made her a little uncomfortable, but the tension probably gave her an adrenaline rush that would help her perform. Or at least that's how she justified it to herself.

The hours slowly ticked by, her Astronomy and Ancient Runes exams looming closer. Finally, around 3:30 AM, she passed out on the couch in the common room, pinning James there along with her.

Groggily awakening as students fluttered around them, Lily was glad that they were all too nervous and busy to bother teasing her and James about their sleeping positions: she was also glad to have time to re-arrange herself before James woke up.

After breakfast, she hurried up two flights of stairs to make it to the Ancient Runes class on time. James, coincidentally, had the same class. He walked her there, except his route took them at least ten minutes longer than it should've. He seemed to choose stairways intent on changing location right after they got on.

After they eventually made it, the exam commenced. Lily thought it went well, and James, as always, was spectacularly confident.

A short lunch followed, but Lily found herself caught in the middle of studying… food didn't appeal much. So she pored over her Astronomy charts with renewed intensity.

Before going to the Astronomy Tower, she briefly wondered how the exam would happen without the aid of the night sky. It was a little after noon, so stars weren't visible at all.

Arriving at the Tower, she and her class were redirected to a classroom. It turned out that the teacher gave them all blank charts and told them to locate a number of galaxies, stars, and planets on them. It wasn't entirely difficult, but a much more tedious assignment than Lily had planned for. She used nearly all of their allotted two and a half hours to complete her chart.

When she was finally released from the classroom, she realized she only had three exams to go, followed by a three-day weekend. The exams she still had were: Transfiguration, Charms, and History of Magic.

History of Magic was probably the biggest class she needed to study for, because loads of dates would be on the test. It was, in fact, comprised entirely of the test-taker writing in the year, and possibly date of certain happenings.

Transfiguration was nearly impossible to study for, considering that the exam would consist of each student being asked to transfigure one object into something else. All Lily could do was look over the various spells.

Charms, her best class, also didn't produce much of a challenge.

The next two days went by quickly and uneventfully; now all Lily had to do was wait about a week to get her results. They would be owled both to her and to her parents, and she felt confident overall. James, predictably, was positive that he'd scored off the charts. Although Lily was a little annoyed by his arrogance, she found it equally endearing.

The night they finished, Lily and James met up in the Common Room at ten PM, and went out onto the Grounds once more. The night sky stretched over their heads, and they got comfortable in the warm air. Curled up next to James on the grass, Lily felt content.

"Eighty-four more days," James whispered in her ear.

Confused, she looked up at him.

"Until we're done with Hogwarts," he clarified.

She grinned, but then her face fell. "What about after that?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"I mean us. What's going to happen after graduation?" Lily asked, avoiding James' gaze.

"We'll stay together, of course," James said. He sounded a little surprised she'd even ask.

"What if I don't want to?" she retorted playfully.

"Then I guess I'll have to make you," he responded.

Lily just grinned up at him, comfortable to lock eyes again.

"Forever?" she asked softly, her words almost lost on the soft breeze of the night.

"Forever," he replied just as softly.

A/N: 1353 words….Not the best ending, I know, but a hell of a lot better than the previous one :) I hope you all enjoyed this fic, especially this (new and improved) ending. Sorry I mucked it up so much the first time…. I really didn't mean to. I got caught up in trying to tie up all the ends and such…. Major mistake. Won't happen again, Scout's honour. Until next fic, headupintheclouds.


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